The Color of Your Pee is the Key
Water is the largest single essential element of the human body, comprising about 60% of its weight. All major body systems depend on water, which performs such critical functions as regulating body temperature, lubricating joints and tissues, protecting organs and tissues, acting as a solvent for biochemical reactions, carrying nutrients and oxygen to all the cells of the body and removing waste.
Fortunately, most of the water in your body is recycled. However, there are daily water losses through breathing, perspiration, urine and feces. In order to maintain healthy bodily functions, you need to replenish what you lose every day.
What happens when you don’t replenish those water losses?
Symptoms of dehydration can begin with a water deficit as small as a 2% loss of body mass and include increased negative emotions, such as irritability, anger and hostility, confusion or short-term memory loss, inability to perform high-level cognitive tasks like attention and executive function, depression, tiredness, fatigue and decreased motor coordination.(1),(2) Dehydration may increase risk of urinary tract infections, gallstones and constipation(2), while habitual dehydration is associated with increased risk of kidney stone formation,(1) and chronic kidney disease.(3)
How much water do you need?
Our water needs are not a constant but, rather, a dynamic, ongoing process influenced by many factors: age, physical activity, climate, diet, alcohol intake, health status, medications and supplements.(4) The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends an adequate daily intake of total water from all beverages and food for healthy men and women of 15.6 and 11.5 eight-ounce cups, respectively.(5) The challenge with these recommendations is practicality; most people don’t track all their fluid intake, and who knows how much water you get from your food?
There is a practical, easy, evidence-based way to determine if you’re staying well hydrated: the color of your urine. See chart below: Am I drinking enough water? The accuracy of this 8-point scale has been demonstrated for healthy adults, children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.(4) The goal is to keep your urine at shade 4 or less, unless your doctor has told you not to do so.
Benefits of staying well hydrated
Staying well hydrated often will reverse the conditions associated with dehydration. An added benefit is that increased water intake has been associated with weight loss in normal, overweight and obese children and adults.(6)
Recommendations
Intake enough water and other fluids throughout the day to keep your urine pale yellow (shade 4 or less), unless your doctor has told you otherwise. In order to help you do that, drink water throughout the day and eat more whole fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, beans and cooked whole grains, like oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa. In addition to all their many health-promoting nutrients, phytochemicals and fiber, these foods contain an abundance of water.
Visit healthdirect.gov.au/urine-colour-chart to download a printable version of this infographic.
Liska D, Mah E, Brisbois T, Barrios PL, Baker LB, Spriet LL. Narrative Review of Hydration and Selected Health Outcomes in the General Population. Nutrients. 2019;11(1):70. Published 2019 Jan 1. doi:10.3390/nu11010070
Clark WF, Sontrop JM, Huang SH, Moist L, Bouby N, Bankir L. Hydration and Chronic Kidney Disease Progression: A Critical Review of the Evidence. Am J Nephrol. 2016;43(4):281-292. doi:10.1159/000445959
Perrier ET. Shifting Focus: From Hydration for Performance to Hydration for Health. Ann Nutr Metab. 2017;70 Suppl 1:4-12. doi:10.1159/000462996
Thornton SN. Increased Hydration Can Be Associated with Weight Loss. Front Nutr. 2016;3:18. Published 2016 Jun 10. doi:10.3389/fnut.2016.00018
